TOW VEHICLE QUESTION

[kodiak61]

My truck is a 2004 half ton Silverado extended cab with the 5.3L (325) engine in it. It came with the towing package and is supposed to be able to tow in excess of 7000 pounds. My 29 foot trailer wegihs 4900 pounds empty. I have only been out a few times to local destinations (15 minutes from my house) just to enjoy the new camper. I will test it on a longer trip this weekend (about an hour and 15 minutes). Should I expect problems using a half ton truck for towing? Do you suggest air shocks or any truck modifications?

[kodiak61]

My truck is a 2004 half ton Silverado extended cab with the 5.3L (325) engine in it. It came with the towing package and is supposed to be able to tow in excess of 7000 pounds. My 29 foot trailer wegihs 4900 pounds empty. I have only been out a few times to local destinations (15 minutes from my house) just to enjoy the new camper. I will test it on a longer trip this weekend (about an hour and 15 minutes). Should I expect problems using a half ton truck for towing? Do you suggest air shocks or any truck modifications?

[RKamperRV]

U sed a half-ton van to tow a trailer of similar size. You need to be careful how much you put in the trailer as it will be easy to have it exceed the truck capacity. Load the trailer and truck like you are going travel, including a full tank of gas, your normal load of water, food, clothing, bikes, etc. Then take it to a scale and get weighed if you have one available.

[Rick A]

I had towed with a 1/2 ton for many years. I towed a 30' sunline TT and a 27' ultralite 5th wheel. I never had any issues with it. I used a Reese dual cam weight distribution/sway control setup with the TT. Make sure you have an auxilary tranny cooler and good brake controller. Verify you are within all weight liits of the truck and you should be fine. As RKamperRV said, load it all up for travel and get it on the scales for that piece of mind.

[WA4SLC]

My first travel trailer was a 30 ft. Mallard that had a dry weight of 4780. I never did weigh it loaded. I pulled it with a 1995 Dodge Ram 1/2 ton long wheel base, extended cab truck that had a 5.2 emgine. I did not have any problems except when I got into some hills. That engine had to work harder than my present set up dose. I did change the tires on the 95 to load range E, because the P metric tires had too much flex in the side walls and caused some swaying problems. You should be Ok with what you have. I took my present truck and TT to a truck stop and got on the CAT scales to see exactly what they weighed. That is the only way to know where you stand is to have them both weighed.

Bill

[450Donn]

Issues? Probably only issue will be how white your knuckles are after you get there. Most people tow with a "3/4" ton truck for a lot reasons that boil down to comfort while towing. Heavier tow vehicles translates into a more comfortable towing experience. I towed a 6500 pound Arctic Fox with a Tahoe for a couple of years. It would tow fine, but I never felt at home. Now, towing a large fifth wheel with a real truck I still feel in complete control.

[kodiak61]

It will be a fairly short trip this weekend, but will probably head off to Oklahoma in June. It is about an 8 hour drive with no trailer behind you. I guess that will be the real test! Anyway, thanks for the information. I never thought about the scale at a truck stop.

[Randy the sly old fox]

What rear end ratio do you have - 3.73 or 4.10 the 4.10 would be the best for towing. With it you will have 14000lbs GCWR - so the maximium trailer wt would be 14000lbs less the wt of the truck (and what's in it). The best thing you can do is to get some real wts on both the trailer and truck. That will give you the best idea of how over/under wt you are.

BTW I towed a 4000 (act wt) tt with a Tahoe with the 5.7L and 3.73 gears and it did just fine - tipped the scales at 10000lbs. I opted for a new Arctic Fox 22H and then tipped the scales at 12000lbs - the max CGWR. While the rig did OK, hills were a problem requiring 2od gear and revs into the 4000 range. I just got the truck in my sig - now I climb the hills in 4th or 5th at 60MPH and around 3000RPM. Makes towing fun again.

[xc-mark]

load range E tires that are no larger then a 245 - 75-16R or a 265 3.73 or 4.10 (prefered). Extra engine and trans cooler if your in the hills will be a must on days that its over 70*. Many times a larger radiator can be fitted into the stock location with no other changes. EX: my 97 chevy K-2500 plow truck 5.7l would run run hot on the highway if the plow was on even if it was 15* outside , I put a 7.4L (454) radiator from the same truck and now it never runs over 200*even on a 50*day. The radiator is 50% thicker core then the OEM piece and has more trans cooler plates in it also.

dont expect it to fly up hill and keep a eye on the temps it will be ok but idealy I tell everyone that tows anything over 4000lbs you should have a 3/4 ton truck for safety reasons not just the power. as stated in the other post 3500 ~4000 RPM is a must on hills , turn your overdrive off.

[kodiak61]

Well... the jury is finished and the verdict is in! I went a little more than an hour from my house last weekend and it towed fairly well. It was hard to keep the truck at 60 to 65 mph. It kept wanting to slow down some. As some of you stated, the rpm's did rev up around 3000 some of the time, but when at 65 the rpm's were normal. I guess for now I will stick to trips of 3 hours or less from my house until I can upgrade vehicles next year. Looks like the trip to Oklahoma (8+ hours) is out for this summer. I'll try it again next weekend on a 2 hour trip.

[MakinSmoke]

How much you can pull is not the question I would ask. I would ask, how much weight can I stop. What is the GVWR of your trailer? If that number is less than 7000 then you will be technically OK but whether you will be practically OK is another issue. Lots of guys tow right at the limit. Scares the P___ out of me to do so.

[george henry]

get air shocks installed.

[motojavaphil]

I have a Dodge Cummins 1Ton DRW 4x4. I want to maximize what I can tow safely. I am installing some gear splitters (GV), an aux trans cooler and larger brakes. This should expand what I can tow safely and reduce the stress on the AT. I will eventually add an engine ehnancement via a programmer, air intake system and exhaust. You have to have enough truck to begin with, which you seem to but eventually going to a 2500 diesel would be best, and then build it for the task at hand. You might check with aftermarket stores, dealers etc., to see what others have done and see if it is right for you. I know on the cummins I was able to see an additional 130hp and much more torque by just programing the engine. Hope this helps.